Brake gear safety device



`5Pf 8 1942- R. B. coT'rRl-:LL

BRAKE GEAR SAFETY DEVICE original Filed Nov. 24, i939 I'IP Patented Sept. 8, 1942 BRAKE GEAR SAFETY DEVICE Robert B. Cottrell, Chicago, Ill., assignoi' to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, lll., a corporation of New Jersey @riginal application November 24, 1939, Serial No.

305,770. Divided and this application September 27, 1941, Serial No. 412,576

(Cl. 18S- 210) 6 Claims.

The invention relates to railway rolling stock and more particularly to safety devices for underlying the brake gear and preventing the saine from falling to the track, particularly in the even-t of the failure of usual supports.

rlhe present application constitutes a division of an earlier application filed November 24, 1939, Serial No. 305,770, now Patent 2,271,628 issued February 3, 1942.

It is common practice, on trucks having spring planks, to mount the safety guards on the spring planks, but frequently diiculty is encountered in mounting safety guards on spring-plankless trucks.

The `main object of the invention is to utilize the lower portion of the truck bolster for mountsuitable safety guards.

Another object is to mount the safety guard directly upon the bolster without requiring the attachment of separate brackets, etc.

Another object is to mount a safety guard on the bolster in such manner that it is readily removable from the bolster for repair or replacement or for other reasons.

It is another object to arrange the guard mounting elements of the bolster so the bolster may be reversed end for end without affecting the utility of the guard mounting elements.

These and other specic objects are attained in the structures illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through a railway truck and illustrates one form of the invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a substantial part of a truck bolster and illustrates another form of the invention.

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical section, similar to Figure 4, showing another form of the invention.

Figures l and 2 illustrate the parts of a truck essential to an understanding of the present invention and include wheels I which will carry the usual axles and journal boxes (not shown) from which the truck side frames 2 are supported. Bolster springs 3 are seated on the side frames and yieldingly support the cast steel boxsection bolster 4 extending from side to side of the truck and including the body supporting center plate P.

The bolster side walls 5 are apertured at 6 to accommodate the removal of the cores used durings are symmetrical about the transverse center l-ine of the bolster and either one is adapted to receive the brake connection rod 'I according to which side of the bolster center line the connection rod is on.

Each of the openings is also adapted to receive a safety guard S passing through the bolster and carried on the lower edges of the openings. The guard is anchored in place by suitable means such as a bolt 9 which draws the centra-l portion Il! of the guard towards the corresponding portion of the bolster Vbottom wall II.

At the ends of guard portion I0 the guard eX- tends downwardly as at Ita to embrace the bolster side walls and then outwardly as at I2 `to underlie one or both of the main members of the brake beams B; the guard is spaced below the brake beams suiciently to accommodate vertical movement of the bolster on its springs relative to the brake beams which are hung from the truck f rame by the usual supporting hangers (not shown).

Bolt 9 holds the guard arm to its seat and prevents all play between it and the bolster, but the weight of the arm and its load, if any, is taken by the bolster direct and does not depend upon the bolt or other securing elements.

By mounting a safety guard on the bolster in -this' manner the bolster4 may be reversed end for end and the position of brake rod 'I and safety guard 8 may be interchanged relative to the bolster according to the direction of inclination of the brake lever (not shown).

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate another arrangement in which bolster I3 is similar to bolster 2 but its side walls have depending lugs I4 to which separate safety guards I5 are bolted. The inner portion of each guard I5 is turned upwardly, inwardly and downwardly to hook over the upwardly-facing ledge formed in the bolster side wall by an aperture I6. Individual bolts I1 attach the vertical portion I5 of the safety guard to the adjacent lugs I4. Bolts Il are easily accessible and their removal readily eiiects removal of the guard from the bolster. An outer portion I8 of each guard extends horizontally under the corresponding brake beam indicated at B1.

Figure 5 illustrates separate supports 20 mounted on the bolster 2l similarly to the arrangement shown in Figures 3 and 4 but bolster 2| has no depending lugs for the guard retaining bolts. In place thereof a bolt 22 has head and nut portions engaging the spaced supports 20 and extending beneath the bolster bottom wall 23.

In each form of the invention illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5, either one of the supports may' be removed without detaching the other one, and with the arrangement shown in Figures 3 and 4 the supports may be staggered lengthwise of the bolster as indicated in Figure 3, or both may be arranged on the same transverse line as are the supports shown in Figure 5.

In each form of the invention the support structure includes a hook-like part for engaging bolster elements whereby the support structure is carried directly by the bolster and is held against shifting movement transversely of the bolster.

In each form of the invention the support device may be distorted slightly by the attaching bolts to prevent rattling or play between the device and the bolster although the bolts are not relied upon to carry the weight of the arms or any load which may be imposed thereon.

While the drawing illustrates the support device spaced from the transverse center line of the bolster to avoid interference with the strut of a truss-type brake beam, it will be understood that the support may be positioned beneath the transverse center line of the bolster if desired. The term support is used to describe the member having parts underlying the brake beam irrespece tive of whether or not the member is used at all times to support the beam or acts normally as a guide for a beam having other main support or functions as a safety guard with which the beam will contact only in emergency as, for eX- ample, upon failure of the usual beam hanger or its pin (not shown).

'Ihe structures illustrated in the drawing may be modied otherwise without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of such modifications as come within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a box-section bolster having vertical longitudinal side walls with transverse openings therethrough, brake gear support structure having portionsextending through said openings and supported on the lower edges of the same, there being lugs on said side walls depending below the bottom wall of the bolster, there being down-turned portions of said structure eX- f tending alongside said lugs, and elements securing said latter-mentioned support portions to said lugs to hold said structure against play on said bolster.

2. In combination, a railway vehicle bolster including a vertical wall having openings disposed symmetrically about the transverse center line of the bolster, a brake connecting rod extending through one of said openings, and a brake gear support carried on the lower edge of the other of said openings, said connecting rod and brake gear support being interchangeable in said openings.

3. In combination, a railway truck bolster of box-shaped cross-section having openings in each of its vertical walls disposed symmetrically about the transverse center line of the bolster, a brake connecting rod extending through said openings on one side of said center line, and a brake gear support extending through said openings on the other side of said center line and supported on the lower edges of said openings, said connecting rod and brake gear support being interchangeable in said openings.

4. In combination with a box-section bolster having a bottom wall and vertical longitudinal side walls with transverse openings therethrough, brake gear support structure having portions extending through said openings and supported on the lower edges of the same, there being an upright bolt-like element engaging said support structure and said bottom wall intermediate said side walls and holding said support structureto its seat on the lower edges of the side wall openings.

5. In combination with a box-section bolster having vertical longitudinal side walls with transverse openings therethrough, separate brake gear support arms each having a portion extending through one of said openings and hooked over on the lower edge of the same and also having a portion extending downwardly below the bottom of said bolster, and a bolt-like element extending between said down-turned portions at opposite sides of the bolster and securing both of said arms in assembly with the bolster.

6. In combination with a railway vehicle bolster having a side wall with an opening therethrough, a brake gear support structure having a downwardly turned hook terminal resting on the lower edge of said opening, there being a portion of said supp-ort structure extending downwardly below the bottom of the bolster, and a bolt-like element between said portion and an adjacent lug on the bolster and holding said structure assembled with the bolster.

ROBERT B. COTT'RELL. 

